Arctic and North

13

Authors: Anton M. MAKSIMOV, Kristina O. MALININA, Tatyana A. BLYNSKAYA

The article considers the relationship of social capital, institutional and interpersonal trust, and entrepreneurial activity on the data of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The authors, following R. Putnam, analyti-cally distinguish two types of social capital — bonding and bridging. The level of the former is measured by interpersonal trust indices, while the latter is measured by general and institutional trust indices. Based on the analysis of the sociological survey results, conducted by the authors of the article, it is shown that the level of bonding capital, based on trust in the nearest social environment, is quite high in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, but there is a shortage of bridging capital that based on trust in public institutions and civil solidarity. It is shown that the deficit of bridging social capital, associated with a low level of trust in institutions, increases the transaction costs of market agents like entrepreneurs, which negatively affects the implementation of the region's entrepreneurial potential. Thus, it is proved that the amount of social capital is a key non-economic factor that reduces the investment rating and entrepreneurial activity indicators in the region against the backdrop of low dynamics of gross regional product and population incomes and increasing government spending to stimulate small and medium-sized businesses.

14

Authors: Aleksandr V. KRUTIKOV, Olga O. SMIRNOVA, Lina K. BOCHAROVA

On March 5, 2020, the President of the Russian Federation approved a new edition of the Basics of State Policy in the Arctic for the period until 2035. The document defined the goals and objectives of the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation for the next 15 years. The main tool for imple-menting state policy in this high-latitude region should be a new strategy for the development of the Rus-sian Arctic zone. Summarizing and analyzing the results of the current Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and ensuring national security for the period up to 2020 (Strategy) will allow us to concentrate the efforts of the state on the most significant problems of the macroregion. The article is devoted to reviewing the results of the implementation of the Strategy, the adoption of which, in 2013, among other things, stimulated the processes of separating the macroregion into an independent object of state administration. The authors analyze the goals, objectives, and results achieved at each stage of the Strategy. Their impact on the socio-economic development of the region as a whole is evaluated.

17

Authors: Elena A. KORCHAK

The modern paradigm of the theory and practice of social development is the concept of sustainable development, the emergence and spread of which was associated with the emphasis on environmental pollution and overpopulation of the planet against the background of limited natural resources. Today, sustainable development is defined as the result of the interaction of a man, the economic system, and nature at the global, national, regional, and local levels. It is expressed, to a certain extent, by economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Modern goals in the field of sustainable development are to promote green growth, rational environmental management, ensuring access to quality health and education services, and improving the well-being of the population. The latter implies, first, the reduction of multidimensional poverty, the numerous groups of social localization, i.e., disabled people, families with children, single-parent families, and ethnic minorities. The aim of the study is to assess the level and extent of poverty and its social localization in the framework of achieving sustainable development of the regions of the Russian Arctic. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the rates and proportions of sustainable development of the Russian Arctic depend on the qualitative state of human potential (carried by the population). The qualitative state of human potential depends on the level of well-being of the population, which determines the degree of satisfaction of needs for benefits and access to social services. Poverty as a socio-economic phenomenon creates threats of degradation of human potential. The research hypothesis is based on the understanding that poverty is a systemic factor that limits the possibilities of a high-quality reproduction of human potential and, accordingly, promising opportunities for achieving sustainable development in the Russian Arctic. The research methods were a statistical analysis of the socio-economic situation of families with children in the regions of the Russian Arctic, as well as an analysis of regulatory legal documents governing measures of social support for families, motherhood, paternity, and childhood. The research results are focused on their use for achieving sustainable development of the Russian Arctic.

18

Authors: Aleksandr N. PILYASOV

The article analyzes the phenomenon of the courage of economic decisions in the development of the Arctic. Courage is understood as a feature of contractual behavior - the ability to radically change or propose new terms of the development contract, which leads to dramatic shifts in the territorial, technological and organizational structure of the development process. In the modern development of the Arctic, new factors are considered that affect the courage of economic decisions. First of all, these are climate changes, which are pushing back the limits for marine logistics, development and extraction of natural resources in the Arctic from offshore platforms. The paper also considers the manifestations of developmental courage as a result of "infection" of large corporations from small venture companies and as a forced result of contractual in-tercorporate conflict. For modern development, the important factors that determine the courage of decisions are logistics, platform technologies and the complete or partial rejection of the use of icebreakers in favor of specialized vessels of the reinforced ice class. A point assessment of the courage of economic decisions for 24 projects of modern development of Arctic resources was carried out using the U-ETO algorithm: according to 12 indicators grouped in blocks of "unique-ness", "environment", "technologies", "organization". As a result of the assessment, it was con-cluded that the courage of economic decisions is not directly related to the capital intensity of in-vestment projects: relatively modest mining projects for new development can outperform ultra-capital-intensive investment projects for the development of hydrocarbons (for e.g., Bovanenkovo or Vankor) if they rely on innovative technologies, organizational structure and the marine envi-ronment for its logistics, mining and processing. A major contradiction in the modern develop-ment of the Russian Arctic is the contrast between the uniqueness of the natural assets of the field and the traditional methods of its development.

19

Authors: Jawahar BHAGWAT

Abstract. The opening of the Northern Sea route (NSR) due to the melting of the Arctic sea ice ushers in many opportunities. The International Maritime Organization has introduced several regulations for ship-ping and the training of seafarers. The Northern Sea Route has several challenges with respect to the infrastructure and the harsh weather conditions. The recent incident onboard the Viking Sky cruise liner was a reminder of such challenges. The Norwegian authorities responded admirably, and the Search and Rescue operation was conducted with the necessary coordinated effort in the shortest possible time. Other incidents along the NSR and increasing ship casualties in the Arctic region which have been analyzed with reference to the adequacy of existing regulations. The author’s opinion is that these incidents bring out a need to examine the adequacy of the Polar code, infrastructure along the NSR and the current state of Search and Rescue (SAR). From a practical point of view the Norwegian experience would be of interest to all Arctic states and the IMO. The evolution of the Polar Code and the challenges in implementation are discussed. The article puts forth several recommendations for improving cooperation and safety with the aim of making the NSR a viable alternative route. This article can be used for educational purposes at universities. It is relevant for civil servants, shipping authorities, search and rescue authorities and researchers involved in developing the Arctic sea routes and specifically the Northern Sea route.

19

Authors: Andrey V. SMIRNOV

The article presents an estimate of the Arctic population in 1900–2019 by country and macro-region, obtained using official statistics of eight Arctic States. Analysis of spatial and temporal data revealed the main patterns of the Arctic population formation. Calculations show the world’s Arctic population in-creased from 1.3 million in 1900 to 6.1 million in 1989, and then declined to 5.4 million in 2019. The share of Russia varied from 22% to 58%. The data show that interregional migration in the Russian Arctic had a decisive influence on the demographic dynamics of the Arctic in general. The main reasons for the decline in the Arctic population in different periods were the completion of cycles of natural resource development and lower quality of life in comparison with the central regions. To smooth out differences in national statistical accounting systems, the article examines the dynamics of the population in 17 major centers of settlement in the Arctic, where more than two-thirds of the population lives. Calculations show that urbanization and population concentration in several of the most attractive areas of the Arctic continue. Administrative and educational centers, which are points of attraction for residents of other Arctic territories, get an advantage. The results of the study allow us to predict the further evolution of the Arctic settlement system. They can be used in the development of strategies and programs for the spatial development of the North and the Arctic.

20

Authors: Pavel A. GUDEV

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the Russian Federation is a strategically important maritime communication with the status of a historically established national transport artery. Despite its applicabil-ity to the Arctic, and therefore to the waters of the NSR, the norms and provisions of the modern international maritime law, and, first of all, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Russia declares the important role of the national legislation on the regulation of navigation on the NSR. Such a situation is conditioned by the existing historical practice, the tacit agreement of most states, as well as the special environmental vulnerability of the Arctic region and the desire to prevent the marine environment pollution due to the navigation. Among the main opponents of this approach is the USA, which traditionally disputes the unified permitting regime for navigation along the NSR as an example of Russia's extremely broad interpretation of the norms and provisions of UNCLOS. The first part of the paper will show how those legal approaches used by Russia to introduce the national level of the NSR regulation, i.e., the concept of internal historical waters and the method of straight baselines, do not contradict UNCLOS, as they go beyond its limits and are based mostly on customary norms of international law (the so-called international custom) rather than treaties. The U.S. disagreement with such an assertion is discredited by the fact that Washington is not a full party to UNCLOS, and thus cannot fully enjoy all the prerogatives it has introduced.